Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the requirements for the Great Northern and Thameslink services to be Driver Only Operation contained in the Invitation to Tender for the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) Franchise apply to all other services across that franchise; what agreement is in place between GTR and his Department on Driver Only Operation; and if he will place that agreement in the public domain.

Paul Maynard

The requirements the Department specified for Driver Only Operation in the Invitation To Tender can be seen in that document on page 74. Govia proposed changes beyond what was specified in the Invitation to Tender in their bid. These were then contractualised in the Franchise Agreement as an obligation for the operator to fulfil. A copy of the Invitation To Tender and redacted Franchise Agreement is available on the DfT website.